Jewish Women's Archive - Judith Rosenbaumhttp://jwa.org/blog/judith-rosenbaum
enA few more stories for the roadhttp://jwa.org/blog/few-more-stories-for-road
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<div class="field-item even"><div class="jwa-media image "><a href="/media/emma-lazarus-fed-still-image"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/files/styles/scale_width_300px/public/mediaobjects/Emma-Lazarus-Fed..jpg?itok=iN1Ydcyv" width="300" height="206" alt="Emma Lazarus Fed - still image [media]" /></a><div class="caption" style="width: 300px;"><a href="/media/emma-lazarus-fed-still-image" class="object-details-link"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/themes/jwawesome/images/img_trans.png" class="sprite sprite-search" alt="Full image"></a><div class="caption-inner"><p>The Emma Lazarus Federation was committed to a wide variety of progressive causes, springing from the members&#39; belief in and dedication to their own identification as Jews, as women, as workers and as Americans.</p><p>Institution: The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OH, <a href="http://www.americanjewisharchives.org">www.americanjewisharchives.org</a> and the <i>New York Herald Tribune</i>; Photograph by Ira Rosenberg.</p></div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field-item even"><p>As I prepare to leave my position as JWA’s Director of Public History after more than 12 years here, my mind keeps returning me back to the summer day in 2000 when I first stepped into the offices of the Jewish Women’s Archive. At the time, I was a disgruntled graduate student, disillusioned with life in the Ivory Tower and the academic study of women’s history. (Was a library really the best place to learn about women’s activism, I wondered?).</p>
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<p>That first summer as a research fellow at JWA reignited my passion for history, as I investigated women’s activism by interviewing 12 extraordinary Jewish women who had been honored at JWA’s first <a href="/exhibits/wwd/">“Women Who Dared”</a> event. I reveled in their stories about taking risks and making change on issues as diverse as civil rights, nuclear disarmament, Israel-Palestine, prisoners’ rights, domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS; I probed them about their identities as women and as Jews; I embraced the challenge of telling their stories in an exhibit on the JWA website. By the end of the summer, I knew I had found an intellectual home, where serious conversation and lunchtime laughter enlivened the otherwise cave-like basement offices.</p>
<p>In the course of my daily work creating online exhibits and educational materials, professional development workshops and blog posts, I’ve had the privilege of encountering generations of American Jewish women through their rich stories.</p>
<p>These stories not only inform my practice as a historian, but also my own approach to the world. Photos like <a href="/media/emma-lazarus-federation-of-jewish-women’s-clubs-at-march-on-washington">this one,</a> of the Emma Lazarus Federation of Women’s Clubs taken at the March on Washington in August 1963 (or as I think of it, “Bubbe goes to Washington”), remind me always to challenge my preconceptions of what an activist looks like or who is “political.” Similarly, the ad for the “<a href="/media/advertisement-for-yom-kipur-picnic-organized-by-goldman-and-her-colleagues">Yom Kipur” picnic</a> organized by Emma Goldman and her fellow radicals in 1907 provokes me <a href="/blog/why-be-jewish-sharing-stories-pushing-boundaries">to consider</a> the boundaries of Jewish practice and the creative secular expressions of Jewish life in America.</p>
<div class="jwa-media image "><a href="/media/advertisement-for-yom-kipur-picnic-organized-by-goldman-and-her-colleagues"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/files/styles/scale_width_225px/public/mediaobjects/egpicnic.jpg?itok=rLg8Ci6L" width="225" height="72" alt="Advertisement for &quot;'Yom Kipur' Picnic&quot; organized by Goldman and her colleagues" /></a><div class="caption" style="width: 225px;"><a href="/media/advertisement-for-yom-kipur-picnic-organized-by-goldman-and-her-colleagues" class="object-details-link"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/themes/jwawesome/images/img_trans.png" class="sprite sprite-search" alt="Full image" /></a><div class="caption-inner">Goldman's dislike of religion is evidenced by her participation in events such as this, scheduled on Jewish holy days.</div></div></div>
<p>Perhaps my all-time favorite JWA project was the online exhibit, <a href="/feminism/">“Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution,” </a>which gave me new insight into Jewish feminists through words and artifacts contributed by 75 activists. <a href="/feminism/index.html?id=JWA023">Marcia Falk,</a> known for her bold and beautiful renderings of Hebrew blessings in re-gendered language, told JWA about the first time she shared her own blessings in public:</p>
<p><em>The next night, in a darkened hall lit only by the multi-wicked candle of the </em>havdalah <em>ritual, I recited four new blessings, in Hebrew and in English, before a community of 300 Jews of almost every religious persuasion, from atheist to modern Orthodox. I recited these blessings as though they had been written a couple of millennia ago by the rabbis, rather than the day before, by me. I offered no apology or explanation (I didn't dare to), and, to my puzzlement and disbelief, the community said </em>Amen.</p>
<p>I’ve returned to her words again and again for their powerful illustration of the creativity of American Judaism, and the essential role an affirming community plays in making that creativity possible.</p>
<p>At JWA, we often talk about role models—how we can expand the range available to us, and what we can learn from them. Sometimes, the most powerful lessons may not be the most obvious ones. I think about this often when I teach <a href="/womenofvalor/szold">Henrietta Szold’s</a> 1916 <a href="/teach/golearn/feb06/">letter,</a> in which she explains her determination to say <em>kaddish</em> for her mother, despite the unorthodoxy of this practice. Szold is known for her bold Zionist leadership as the founder of Hadassah, but her letter reveals a different side: resolute, yet gentle; strong-minded, yet diplomatic. In this personal letter, I would argue, reside some of her most compelling lessons on leadership.</p>
<p>In an amazing demonstration of Jewish women’s legacy in action, Supreme Court Justice <a href="/feminism/index.html?id=JWA027">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</a> claims Henrietta Szold and this very letter as one of her central inspirations. In a JWA-sponsored panel at the 2004 Lion of Judah conference at which I was honored to meet Ginsburg, she quoted extensively from Szold’s letter and then reflected, “Szold’s plea for celebration of our common heritage while tolerating, indeed appreciating, the differences among us concerning religious practice is captivating. I recall her words even to this day when a colleague’s position betrays a certain lack of understanding.”</p>
<div class="jwa-media image "><a href="/media/judiths-goodbye-party-photo"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/files/styles/scale_width_225px/public/mediaobjects/p1060701.jpg?itok=Ik-o5XsN" width="225" height="169" alt="Judith's Goodbye Party Photo" /></a><div class="caption" style="width: 225px;"><a href="/media/judiths-goodbye-party-photo" class="object-details-link"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/themes/jwawesome/images/img_trans.png" class="sprite sprite-search" alt="Full image" /></a><div class="caption-inner">Judith Rosenbaum at JWA's goodbye party held in her honor.</div></div></div>
<p>I’m proud, of course, of the ways I’ve contributed to the work of JWA—whether <a href="/teach/profdev">training teachers</a> to use primary sources, developing curriculum on <a href="/teach/livingthelegacy">social justice,</a> or documenting the <a href="/feminism/">history of Jewish feminism</a>— and I draw inspiration from the many talented Jewish educators who are creatively using JWA resources and shaping the next generation of American Jews. But my time at JWA has been personally as well as professionally meaningful. As the daughter of a <a href="/weremember/hyman-paula">feminist pioneer,</a> I’ve been able to contribute to and carry on my mother’s important work in my own way—an opportunity for which I’ve been particularly grateful in the past year since my mother died. I’ve also been able to bring to bear my perspective as a feminist mother of two budding history makers, working every day to ensure that they grow up in a community that values the contributions and experiences of all its members.</p>
<p>Ultimately, my takeaway from these dozen years is less about my impact on JWA than JWA’s impact on me. The stories I’ve been immersed in at JWA have inspired and moved me, and sometimes angered and discouraged me. No matter where my journey takes me next, these stories will continue to shape my sense of who I am and where I come from, and to fuel my commitment to bringing about a more just and compassionate world.</p></div>
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<a href="/topics/civil-rights">Civil Rights</a>, <a href="/topics/feminism">Feminism</a>, <a href="/topics/jewish-studies">Jewish Studies</a>, <a href="/topics/womens-studies">Women&#039;s Studies</a><a href="/tags/jewish-womens-archive-jwa">Jewish Women&#039;s Archive (JWA)</a>Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000gorcha16541 at http://jwa.orgFrom Margin to March: What to make of Women's History Monthhttp://jwa.org/blog/from-margin-to-march-what-to-make-of-womens-history-month
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<div class="field-item even"><div class="jwa-media image "><a href="/media/judith-rosenbaum"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/files/styles/scale_width_300px/public/mediaobjects/judith-150px.jpg?itok=IOTx3zT-" width="150" height="133" alt="Judith Rosenbaum" /></a><div class="caption" style="width: 150px;"><a href="/media/judith-rosenbaum" class="object-details-link"><img src="/sites/jwa.org/themes/jwawesome/images/img_trans.png" class="sprite sprite-search" alt="Full image"></a><div class="caption-inner">Judith Rosenbaum</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field-item even"><p>Here’s a not-so-secret little secret about me: I’m a major women’s history geek. I can go on about the stories of women’s lives for hours. Want to know about Emma Goldman? Don’t get me started unless you’re free for the rest of the day. Curious about the history of the maxi pad? I’m your woman. At the drop of a hat, I can deliver an impassioned lecture about the cultural significance of Bella Abzug’s hat, or of my grandmother’s hat pin, or of the representations of gender in The Cat in the Hat. I’ve devoted my career to spreading the gospel (as it were) of women’s history at the Jewish Women’s Archive. Women’s history isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am.</p>
<p>So you’d think March—the Congressionally-proclaimed official Women’s History Month—would be the highlight of my year. But the truth is, I’ve come to dread it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the burst of public programming about women. It’s a refreshing change to see women’s stories take center stage in virtually every medium. It’s one of the only times of the year when my particular expertise is in high demand. I should revel in it, no?</p>
<p>But there’s something disconcerting about Women’s History Month in the 21st century. The sudden attention to women’s contributions and experiences arises seemingly out of nowhere and just as quickly recedes, leaving the traditional historical narrative essentially unchanged for the other eleven months of the year.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt that something powerful happens when we focus on women’s lives as a distinct and worthy topic, moving them “from margin to center,” a shift feminists have long advocated. The problem is that, ultimately, the singular focus on women’s history in the form of a dedicated month doesn’t really move women’s history to the center; it moves it to March. Women’s history thus remains in its own kind of ghetto, still segregated from what we call “History.”</p>
<p>In assessing the meaning and impact of Women’s History Month, it’s worth considering its history. In 1979, Gerda Lerner—a pioneer in women’s history and the founder of the first graduate program in the field—organized a Summer Institute for Leaders of Women’s Organizations. The Institute brought together a diverse group of 43 women for 15 days of intensive study, leadership development, and community building. Inspired by the success of Women’s History Week programming in Sonoma County, California, led by one of their own, the women chose for their group project to “make the celebration of Women’s History Week a national event.” This required lobbying Congress for a joint resolution and securing the President’s approval. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first proclamation of National Women’s History Week (March 2-8, 1980), as has every President and Congress since then, expanding the celebration into Women’s History Month in 1987.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Women’s History Month has been an important innovation. It offers the impetus and structure to bring women’s stories into mainstream curriculum, and has sparked the creation of numerous new educational resources and programs devoted to women’s contributions to our nation. But it also allows a certain complacency in the structure of history overall. It took seven years for the creators of Women’s History Week, and then the government at their urging, to recognize that one week of attention is insufficient. The expansion to Women’s History Month happened in 1987—that’s 25 years ago. Isn’t it high time to acknowledge that women’s history—which is, after all, the history of more than half of the population—deserves to be taught every day, not just in March?</p>
<p>As Gerda Lerner famously said, it is not sufficient to just “add women and stir.” The true goal of women’s history isn’t just to mix in a few new stories/ingredients, but rather to fundamentally change the recipe so that the final dish—history with a capital "H"—is forever altered. In other words, when done right, women’s history requires a radical rethinking of historical paradigms.</p>
<p>The history of Women’s History Month teaches us several lessons: 1) Learning about one’s history can be incredibly empowering. A relatively brief immersion in women’s history inspired the Institute participants to join together in collective action so that others could have access to the education they had just received. 2) Even in taking bold actions—like demanding a proclamation from Congress and the President—sometimes we start out thinking too small. Devoting one week out of the year to all of women’s history? Seriously? 3) But change sometimes works incrementally. First one week, then one month. The question is: What comes next?</p>
<p><em>Originally posted at <a href="http://www.rolereboot.org/culture-and-politics/details/2012-03-from-margin-to-march-what-to-make-of-womens-history">Role/Reboot</a>, crossposted with permission.</em></p>
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<a href="/topics/womens-studies">Women&#039;s Studies</a>, <a href="/topics/history">History</a><a href="/tags/womens-history-month">Women&#039;s History Month</a>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:15:14 +0000lberkenwald15289 at http://jwa.orgJWA on Jspothttp://jwa.org/blog/jspot
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<div class="field-item even"><p>I was just interviewed about my work at JWA for Jspot.org's Kolot series on Jewish leaders. <a href="http://jspot.org/?p=1429">Check it out!</a></p>
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<a href="/topics/organizations-and-institutions">Organizations and Institutions</a><a href="/tags/jewish-womens-archive-jwa">Jewish Women&#039;s Archive (JWA)</a>, <a href="/tags/interview">Interview</a>Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:31:46 +0000jrosenbaum13614 at http://jwa.orgReally HOThttp://jwa.org/blog/realhot
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<div class="field-item even"><p>By now you all know I’ve got a lot of issues with what our world looks like these days. Near the top of my list is popular media’s degrading representation of women and girls, who are objectified and usually valued only for their appearance and sexiness (as defined by men). So all hail the <a href="http://therealhot100.org/">REAL hot 100</a> – a list compiled by a bevy of kick-ass young feminists to counter Maxim Magazine’s annual “Hot 100” list and to redefine what makes women hot. The REAL hot 100 list is inspiring, and a great retort to anyone who claims that young women are apathetic, apolitical, and uninterested in women’s issues.</p>
<p>I’d like to add my own nomination: GLBT activist <a href="/exhibits/wwd/jsp/bio.jsp?personID=psizen">Shulamit Izen</a>. As a high school student, Shulamit pushed her Jewish high school to acknowledge the needs of GLBT students and to create a Gay/Straight Alliance – the first for a Jewish school. Shula was my student, and I was amazed not only at her own bravery but at how she challenged everyone around her to take ownership over their community and to take a stand for what they believed in. She continues her activism as a student at Brown, and remains humble, despite being featured in a new documentary film called <a href="http://www.boston-keshet.org/hineini/">Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School</a>.</p>
<p>I think we’re all lucky to know hot women in our own lives, and they should all have a chance to be recognized and celebrated. Who would you add to the REAL hot 100 list?</p>
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<a href="/topics/feminism">Feminism</a>, <a href="/topics/lgbtqia-rights">LGBTQIA Rights</a><a href="/tags/body-image">Body Image</a>Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:00:48 +0000jrosenbaum13525 at http://jwa.org